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17 November 2015 - Best Beer HQ

Funk Estate Oh Lordy beer review

ABV: 5.5%

What: A New Zealand pale ale by a Wellington craft brewery calling themselves Funk Estate. I’d never heard of them, to be perfectly honest with you, but they’re obviously funky in name and nature – just take a look at that kick-ass Blaxploitation label. It is very cool.

I reckon if the beer tastes even half as good as its packaging looks we’ll be onto a winner here.

For the record, I split a 500ml bottle of Oh Lordy with a mate last Friday the 13th while we watched classic slasher flick Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, so the notes I took of the beer on my iPhone aren’t nearly as comprehensive as I’d normally like them to be.

Blurb on the bottle: Oh Lordy! Grasped in your groovy phalanges is our contribution to the oh so popular pale ale style. We think the balance is pretty bangin’. The Munich malt provides a wee bit of biscuit pleasure, combined with a generous amount of Kiwi hops, carefully selected to summon some sexual citrus, passionfruit and grape notes. We challenge you to drink and not scream… Oh Lordy!

Funk Estate: We are Dylan, Jordan and Shigeo. We were drawn together by our love for lagers, affection for ales and an all-round passion for a pint. To put it simply, we like good beer. We’re about making brews from across the spectrum, releasing limited runs of big, bold and outrageous beers, as well as holding down a solid lineup of tasty drops. Seek us out, stay funky.

My tasting notes: It’s certainly much more refined than the movie I’m watching.

Indeed, this beer is remarkably well balanced with a biscuit malt finish and just a hint of fruity hops breaking through the bitterness. It’s crisp, refreshing and well carbonated without being overly so.

It’s also worth noting that this beer smells hoppier than it tastes, though I’ve made no specific notes about its aroma. I must have been enjoying the film too much.

Is it the best beer ever? Well, despite what it says on the bottle, the taste of Oh Lordy doesn’t quite compel me to scream out ‘oh lordy!’ in ecstasy, but it’s not a bad beer by any means. It’s good; not great, and certainly not as memorable as its packaging, but I’d certainly be keen to sample a few more of Funk Estate’s offerings.

Spoiler alert: I already have. Keep an eye out for a review of Funk Estate’s Yes Yes Y’all session pale ale in the next week or so.